The Night Before
by iwasnthere622
Summary: Lloyd and Kratos have a chat about the past the night before the big battle. Family bonding fic, dedicated to LeaStar. Warning: Contains game plot spoilers.


LeaStar, this one's for you! Sorry it took so long, I really hope you like it!

Special thanks to Cami (Darknesschill) for all her help with this and her Kratos-channeling skillz.

This takes place right before the final battle, so it contains spoilers if you haven't gotten that far.

Enjoy!

I don't own TOS.

* * *

><p>Lloyd chuckled quietly to himself as he took in the sight of Genis and Noishe asleep on his bedroom floor and Colette and Sheena passed out on the bed.<p>

Gently closing the door, he peaked into the guest bedroom, finding that the Professor, Presea, Regal, and Zelos were also asleep.

Shaking his head and wondering just how they could all fall asleep so easily when tomorrow was such an important day, he headed downstairs to find his Dad. Or… Dads.

"What're ya doin' up?" Dirk asked from the kitchen table.

Lloyd shrugged, "Can't sleep."

Dirk nodded slowly, "Ah know th' feelin'."

Lloyd glanced around, "Where's… Kratos?"

"Visitin' yer mother," Dirk said.

Automatically, Lloyd glanced out the window, just able to make out the shape of Kratos at his mother's grave. He turned back to Dirk when the dwarf cleared his throat.

"Ya should go 'n talk ta 'im," Dirk said gruffly.

Lloyd stared at his feet.

"Ah mean it. Yer leavin' in the mornin' ta fight the biggest battle ya've ever faced. Ya should git ta know yer dad before ya leave," Dirk said.

"You're my dad," Lloyd said automatically.

Dirk nodded, "Ah know it. Ah raised ya, didn't Ah? But he looked out fer ya on yer trip, taught ya, cared fer ya. He cared fer yer mom, too. Talk ta 'im."

"Yeah. Thanks, Dad," Lloyd said, nodding to Dirk before heading for the door.

"O' course. Git goin', ya still gotta git some sleep," Dirk replied.

"I know," Lloyd said before stepping out into the night, closing the door behind him.

Slowly, he walked over to Kratos, standing next to him and staring at his mother's name engraved in stone, feeling the familiar tug in his heart and the weight of the Exsphere on his hand.

"You should be asleep," Kratos said quietly.

"So should you," Lloyd replied.

Kratos turned to him, "I no longer require sleep."

Lloyd shook his head, "Sleeping doesn't have to mean unconscious. You should be resting up, too."

"Hmph," Kratos turned back to the gravestone. After a moment of silence, he spoke softly, "It's difficult to think that we were so close."

"Who? You and Mom?" Lloyd asked, glancing at him.

Kratos nodded, "Yes. We had heard there was a dwarf in this area, and we were trying to find him." He looked over at Dirk's house, "We were close enough that he was able to find you."

"Why did you want to find Da-Dirk?" Lloyd asked curiously, quickly fixing his name for the dwarf who had raised him.

"We were hoping he would build a key crest to control your mother's Exsphere," Kratos answered. The reality of what had happened instead didn't need to be said out loud.

"Oh," Lloyd stared at the gravestone.

Kratos paused. "Do you want to hear about her?" he asked, unsure of whether to continue.

Lloyd nodded silently.

"She was..." he paused again, this time only for a moment, "very excitable, until she learned she was pregnant with you."

"Was she... what did she look like?" Lloyd blurted out, studying Kratos' face.

Kratos thought for a moment, before answering. "You inherited her hair," he said at last. "She kept it about the same length you have yours, actually, except hers framed her face more. Her eyes were a little lighter than yours."

Automatically, Lloyd lifted a hand to touch his hair. He lowered it slowly, hands fisting. "I can't remember her."

"It's not surprising," Kratos said. "You were very young when she died."

"...I remember you," Lloyd said quietly, looking up at the night sky.

Startling, Kratos looked over at him, "What?"

"Well, I didn't really know it was you until that night at Altessa's, but I think some part of me recognized you from the beginning. Da-Dirk and the Professor would ask me, sometimes, if I could remember my real dad, and where I used to live. And it's really fuzzy but I can remember bits and pieces of being really little and you holding me on your shoulders and showing me all the different stars..." Lloyd trailed off, lost in the memory.

Kratos hesitated, silent.

"We did that a lot, right? I didn't... make it up?" Lloyd asked, looking back at Kratos.

"Almost every night," Kratos nodded. "I'm... surprised you can remember."

"I think I do because once I started... living with Dirk, I'd spend a lot of time on the balcony. He always worried I'd fall off when I was little," Lloyd smiled, "But I've always loved looking at the stars and I kinda clung to that memory, I guess."

Kratos hesitated, but nodded. "You did enjoy it when you were young," he said, "That's why we continued to do it every night."

"Why did you go back to him?" Lloyd asked. "Why did you just... give up?"

"I thought the fall would have killed you," Kratos answered. "I went and looked, but... you were gone. I lost everything I cared for that day."

"So you just went back to the guy you were running from?" Lloyd asked incredulously. "You didn't find my body, you didn't know for certain!"

"I don't deny that it was a mistake, Lloyd," Kratos said, before promptly falling silent.

Lloyd stared at the grave for a long moment before speaking. "Mithos... is your friend right? Even if you don't agree with him, can you really fight him tomorrow?" he asked, sighing in frustration.

"My friend Mithos died the day his sister did," Kratos answered.

"I'm sorry," Lloyd said.

Kratos shook his head, "I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"You did your best. People aren't perfect," Lloyd shrugged.

Kratos stayed silent.

"As long as you keep choosing the right thing to do and try your hardest... I don't think everything has to be forgiven. I think people can work through their mistakes and help do good in the worlds," Lloyd said.

"That's.." Kratos hesitated, "very optimistic."

"Everyone can do the right thing. Even Mithos. Tomorrow... I'm going to give him a choice. We don't have to fight him," Lloyd said firmly, nodding.

Kratos smiled softly, "Stay strong, Lloyd."

Lloyd grinned, "Of course! I told you I'd grow stronger, and I'll keep getting stronger, strong enough to save everyone!"

Kratos simply nodded, "You should get some rest."

"I'm too... I don't know, I just can't sleep now," Lloyd said, stifling a yawn which threatened to contradict him.

"I'm willing to guess that you would be able to if you tried."

"Only if you come inside, too," Lloyd insisted.

Kratos nodded, "All right."

Lloyd smiled, leading him inside. Dirk was gone, probably asleep upstairs. Going up himself and expecting Kratos to follow, Lloyd paused in the hallway.

"That's the other guest bedroom, it's empty. You can have it," he said, pointing.

Kratos nodded and Lloyd hesitated, hand on the doorknob to his own room, in which he planned to curl up on the floor and sleep for a few hours.

"Good night... Dad."


End file.
